An Unforgettable Love
by Charlotte Grieves
Summary: Tessa Gray has never seen herself as pretty. Will Herondale has never seen himself in any fashion. Love certainly changes everything, doesn't it? Will/Tessa Title based off a line from Love Is by Park Jang Hyun and Park Hyun Kyu. I own none of their music or lyrics!
1. Please Don't Go

I OWN NOTHING! THIS ALL BELONGS TO THE WONDERFUL GENIUS THAT IS CASSANDRA CLARE! TITLE BASED OFF A LINE FROM BREEZEBLOCKS BY ALT J! I OWN NONE OF THEIR MUSIC OR LYRICS!

Hi my fellow fanfiction readers! If you are here from my Beauty and the Beast story I put out thank you for all of your wonderful comments! They keep me writing and really meant a lot to me. I changed the time frame a little. I had Jem propose earlier and felt like our Tess should be better at hunting with all the training she was getting from not only Will and Jem, but the Lightwoods. The information on the demons and seraph blades in this chapter I found on the Shadowhunters' Wiki. I improvised on some things so not every detail is perfect. I only just found out a few days ago that Clare put out the Shadowhunter's Codex! I am so upset I can't get it cause I have no money -_- As usual enjoy! Favorite! Review!

Please Don't Go

He volunteered. Tessa was undergoing training and he wanted to be the one to take her out on her first hunt. Will was a possessive creature by nature. He didn't love much and when he did he held on tightly. He was, obviously, completely against the idea but she was stubborn. He never wanted to risk her life, it would end his shortly after. Yet, that was part of the reason he loved her so much. Naturally, he didn't trust anyone else to keep her safe but himself. He had all the faith in the world for Jem but Will worried about his _parabatai_ as well. He was feeling a little under the weather and Will didn't want to chance anything. Especially if it meant he got to spend more time with the prettiest girl in his eyes. This led to an expected argument. Tessa didn't want to go with him. She was engaged to Jem and he hadn't handled it very well.

"_You're marrying Jem?" Will had spoken softly._

"_Yes." He turned away from her. He didn't want Tessa to see the tears welling up in his eyes._

"_He gave no sort of indication that he was the least bit interested in you." He closed his eyes when his voice cracked. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen._

"_Why are you so upset?" _

_He breathed in heavily at this, trying to muffle the sob stuck in his throat. He could feel it trying to claw its way out in the form of a shout. That she even had to ask that question made his bones turn to ice. He remembered hoping that he wouldn't fall, because he would surely shatter. He opened his eyes. This room, the library, used to be his room. Now it was hers. The books surrounding him, threatening to swallow him whole, didn't provide a comfort anymore. The fire crackled and spit out embers while he had choked down the need to beg. To offer himself however need be to have her back. But then he realized, he never had her to begin with. A cold feeling settled over him. A coldness that the burning oak in the ornate fireplace had no chance of chasing out. _

"_I'm upset? Tie yourself to a dying man. Then we'll see who's upset at the end of it. I couldn't care less what you two do." He wanted to take the words back immediately after they poured out of him like an overflowing cup. It was silent for a minute. Then he heard a sniffle. He never liked seeing Tessa cry, and he had seen it more than anyone else. _

"_How can you say something like that to me? And about Jem?" He had made her cry. So he left her there in the room that was no longer her sanctuary either, a library that was no one's anymore._

He regretted the way he spoke to her. The way he had insulted the love of his life, and the other love of his life in a very different way. Before he could stop the words they were out, the aftertaste bitter, like poison. He always messed up when it came to her. But it was twilight, the time where the sun was slightly shining but the moon was lingering above. Threatening to swallow the sun and everything it shone down on whole. A time of magic. It delighted him that even through the thick mass of gray clouds the light still seemed to shine down along her brown hair, creating a halo in the ever presenting fog gracing the city of London. Both of their shoes clicked loudly against the uneven cobblestones as they paced the alleyways, the minutes ticked away and took the little light they had with them. While they searched a man had stopped by. He was lighting the fire lamps down the street. Will could feel his aura, as all shadowhunters were trained to do. It was dark and seemed to stick to his skin as they passed by. It was an Eidolon demon, a shape-changer. It eyed him as he tucked Tessa under his arm. She did not push him away, she could feel the potential danger they could be put in emanating from the young shadowhunter. Will gave the demon a warning glare. In return the demon's black eyes flashed, a signal that it's form was breaking down and that it would need to change shape soon. Will would not attack, Eidolon demons were strong and he didn't want to risk Tess.

They kept walking, she shrugged him away when the demon had passed and disappeared over the hill and to the next section of fire lamps. The image of her turning her back and walking away from him made Will lose his footing for a moment, even though he had an equilibrium and an agility rune burned into his flesh. She used to smile at him. She used to laugh with him, even at him. Now all they had was an excuse of hunting so he could see her, hear her, feel her. Even with the fire lamps spaced evenly on each side it gave them little illumination so Will reached for his witchlight rune stone. It lit up their path and they were suddenly welcomed to the sight of a Croucher demon. It was eating a young girl, they were too late and she was now gone from this world. Jem would say the child would pass through the Wheel and into another life. Will still wasn't sure about Jem's idea of life after death but he would always indulge his _parabatai_. And if it meant that he would be able to see Tessa again, in any fashion, he would believe whatever was needed. He heard a warning sound from the beast, a clicking that made his skin crawl. Croucher demons weren't too particularly bright and they were slow. Will was confident they both could take it out.

"_Uriel_." He whispered the name of an angel so his seraph blade would ignite.

Tessa pulled out her naginata, she wasn't fully trained with the graceful sword but it seemed to work for her better than any other. Will pounced upon the demon and stabbed it in both shoulders. It would have a hard time crouching now. It started making clicking noises with its plated tongue again. Will hoped Tessa remembered from her teachings that it did this to distract and confuse. He hoped that she remembered its claws held venom that wouldn't kill, but would burn her skin. He hoped for nothing. Tessa was smart, she knew what she was doing. She never took her eyes off the thing for a minute, she was doing better than Will. Who was looking at her every other second to make sure she was okay. It managed to scratch both of them and burn the first layer of skin clean off. They had to be more careful, of it got the same spot again it could strip the flesh down to the bone. Finally, Tessa was able to stab its back. She held the sword in place so that it was stuck to the dirty concrete and Will gave the final blow to the head. Ending the demon's life and watching as it curled into itself until it all but disappeared on the wind.

They were covered in ichor and sweat and probably smelled worse. Will immediately asked if she was okay. She glared at him and pulled out some large bandages and a jar that Henry had made for the mundanes in case they got hurt. She was having trouble putting it on. Will snatched them out of her hands. He smeared the smelly remedy thickly on her burns to heal her quickly and slapped the bandage on to cover the odor. He drew a few _iratzes_ near the burns and his heart and watched as the wounds slowly healed. The fight had lasted a while. The early hours of London managed to break through the permanent somber cloud cover over the city and above their fatigued heads. They both walked silently back to the Institute, until Will could take no more. He grabbed her forcefully by the shoulders.

"Will?" She called in suspicion. Yet all he could think about was how the ground was telling him to do it. The cobblestones made her taller than him, he had to look up at her. Will thought it was perfect, so his only answer was to mold his mouth to hers. She was shocked, he could tell. The only way he could beg her not to stop was to give a strangled cry of _Tess!_ against her silky lips. He silently pleaded with her to leave Jem before they both tore a hole in his heart so big that even an _iratze_ couldn't mend the pieces.


	2. Break Down, Now Weep

I OWN NOTHING! THIS ALL BELONGS TO THE AMAZING CASSANDRA CLARE! TITLE BASED OFF A LINE FROM BREEZEBLOCKS BY ALT J! I OWN NONE OF THEIR MUSIC OR LYRICS!

I'm sorry that it has taken so long to update! I have been busy with school lately. In this scene I had Will give Tessa his copy of _A Tale of Two Cities_ a bit early. I thought it would fit more. As always enjoy! Follow! Review! Much Love and I know it's late but Happy Thanksgiving! Interweb kisses for all!

Break Down, Now Weep

Will's feet prodded almost silently against the glossy wood floorboards in front of the Institute's library even though he hadn't cast a soundless rune. It had been a week since he kissed Tessa. In the most inopportune time. He remembered the look on her face. It made Will immediately feel tiny and insignificant.

_When he pried his lips off Tessa's, it was only to allow each other oxygen. He would have continued until they both suffocated but he was sort of attached to the mysterious warlock. He tilted his head up to meet her gaze. The cobblestones, and her shoes, made her tower over him. Tessa was gazing over his shoulder. She refused to look at him even after he shook her shoulders._

_"Tess?" Will's expression became worried. He hadn't meant to upset her. He loved her, but that seemed to be the problem. Will's love, his only love, seemed to upset everyone._

_"How dare you," Her voice was small but smothered in anger. She shrugged her shoulders, his hands fell stiffly at his sides. Will knew he shouldn't have done it. A kiss would never fix the ongoing battle that was raging within both of their hearts._

_"I'm sorry." His eyes were filling. He went to step away but she stopped him with a quick hand. His cheek stung from where it made contact. A red, and yet somehow melancholy, handprint was pressed against his cheekbone. The tears spilled over. Not because it hurt, but because it _hurt_. Deep down in his soul he could feel the cry it gave. The shout to please stop this torture! Must we see her everyday? Must we see her with _him_ everyday? He stumbled a few steps from her. To accommodate the room his soul was asking for. He messed up, again._

_Her heels clicked impatiently along the bricked streets, almost at a run. Will followed behind at his own pace. Not so close that she would leave him completely but not so far that he couldn't come between her and the first sign of danger. Tessa had been in London for a while now. She knew how to make it back to the Institute without requiring the route. Once she entered the creaky iron gates, Will stayed behind._

_Jem was waiting for her in the cold and harsh morning. He had probably been on the stoop since the minute they left. Tessa threw herself into Jem's arms. Will couldn't hear what they were saying, he was quite sure he didn't want to, but he couldn't help himself from hearing the nonexistent sweet nothings that were being whispered between the two. He couldn't seem to stop himself from watching as they embraced. Jem buried his face in her neck, breathing her in. Coincidentally, it was the same spot Will liked to frequent when they held each other. When she used to let him. When she used to welcome his touch. When she used to seek him out just so she could smile at him. When Jem grabbed her face and forced her mouth to his, Will had enough. When the kiss was interrupted from their smiling faces he turned and walked back in the direction they came from. He could still see the ghost of their stolen kiss on his way to the opium den. Crawling with demons and alcohol, at the time it seemed fitting for Will and his wounded heart._

Will paused outside the library doors. The memory made him shudder. Tessa's obvious distaste made him shudder. He looked at his feet, almost expecting a groove to be permanently fixed into the dark wood below. Will had confessed his love for Tessa more than a handful of times. She never understood. Admittedly, it was his fault. Will never came across as coherent when it came to the words _Tessa_ and _love_ in the same sentence. He was worried, for a multitude of reasons. He decided that hesitancy was not his strong point so he entered the library faintly. Tessa had been cooped in the dusty, parchment filled room since the kiss. He vaguely noticed how it always smelt of fresh ink. Most likely from Henry and his clumsy hand. He found Tessa in her favorite chair, right next to the fireplace since she got cold easily, reading _A Tale of Two Cities_. It was her favorite book.

And as much as he could, and would, stand there and watch her all day, he couldn't. He plucked up some courage, cursing the fact that he left his stele in his room and couldn't simply draw some into his psyche. He kneeled in front of her. She jumped when her eyes reached him, her smile vanishing. No doubt she was expecting Jem. She looked down, uncomfortable, and her expression tore at his heart. He never wanted her to feel awkward in his presence, quite the opposite actually. He wanted her to smile at him. Not in a forced or even loving nature. He would be happy if she would even look at him with content, like a friend. He would even take a cordial acquaintance smile, she was always good at those. Instead, he wrapped her in his arms until she melted like he always wanted her to.

"I love you so much."

He was done with letters and confusing conditions that he never wanted, or meant, in the first place. He would be truthful and straightforward. To his horror, Will could feel a trail of tears slip down his face and soak the collar of his overcoat. He never liked crying in front of Tessa. He never wanted her to know what kind of power she had over him. He looked down, he didn't want to see what she truly felt about him, not yet. It was then that he noticed the wet spots on her book. Making the ink pool to the surface and the once beautiful words wash away in a river of grief. She was crying and he was the only one who knew her like an open book, much like the one she was cradling in her lap. The book he had given her, with his love letter tucked away safely inside. The copy with his inscription to the only girl that counted, it might have been too late but he wanted his affections to be known. Absolutely this time. He had left it in front of her door the night he kissed her, in hopes that she would understand his love. Even if she could never reciprocate the same yearning he held for her.


End file.
